Movie Review by Bill Rendall

Jacob's Ladder

Initially Jacob's Ladder seems to be about a Vietnam vet trying to sort his life out after the war. It gradually becomes apparent that he is suffering from worse than post-traumatic stress disorder.

The inspiration for Jacob's Ladder can be traced back a hundred years to a short story by Ambrose Bierce called "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge." Jacob's Ladder was the forerunner of a number of movies in more recent years which confuse the viewer's perception of reality.

Although the script for Jacob's Ladder was highly regarded in the movie industry it took about ten years before it was made into a movie. The screenwriter, Bruce Joel Rubin, also wrote the script for Ghost which screened around the same time as Jacob's Ladder and shared a similar theme of the transition from life to death. Ghost clearly had more commercial appeal.

Adrian Lyne, who had great success with Flashdance and Fatal Attraction, took on the project of directing Jacob's Ladder. Lyne added the important character of the angelic chiropractor. He also introduced the technique of shaky blurred images of demons, which heightened the supernatural horror of the movie.

Lyne took great pains to provide a rational explanation for all the weird imagery. To remove any lingering doubts the movie ends with a note pointing the finger of blame at the hallucinogenic drug BZ. This explanation was an unnecessary and unconvincing contrivance. The American military may have been experimenting with the drug around the time of the Vietnam war. However, it is stretching credibility to suggest that it may have been used on an American combat unit.

There are many religious references in Jacob's Ladder, most obviously with the character names. This was likely an inspiration for The Matrix, a movie which also confused the perception of reality.

The effectiveness of Jacob's Ladder was undermined somewhat by the ending. Even so, I found the movie to be a moving and powerful experience, aided by a strong performance from Tim Robbins in the lead role. I recommend Jacob's Ladder as a must see movie for fans of the reality bending genre.

Director: Adrian Lyne

Screenplay: Bruce Joel Rubin

Music: Maurice Jarre

Further viewing:

David Lynch took the concept of Jacob's Ladder further into the realms of bizarre imagery with the enigmatic Mulholland Drive.

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